It's been forever and a day, I know :) but some of you have asked so nicely for an update to this story,(Sophiasown, comewithnattah, thegist,) and Rickscolt made such an awesome cover that I had to put one out for you. I have a really hard time managing two universes at a time, so I probably won't get back to this one until Meant To Be Yours is finished, but here you go for now. Thank you so much for your support on this story. xoxox
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"Hey, sorry I'm late," Michonne whispered, holding one hand over the receiver of her cellphone as she rushed into her condo.
Rick waved at her from his spot on the couch, already dressed and waiting for her, as she tried desperately to finish the conversation that was eating into her evening.
She dropped her purse on the chair, pressing her shoulder to her ear to hold the phone while she unbuckled the little leather straps on her shoes. Giving him a 'pretty please' with her eyes, she backed up to where he sat, and he unzipped the back of her dress, surprising her when he sank back into the couch without even attempting to let his hands stray.
"Yes, I understand," she said, tossing him a glance over her shoulder. "'I'll have it ready for her review tomorrow."
Rick's eyes had slipped closed, his head tipped back against the back of the couch, and she furrowed her brow at the sight, making a mental note to check in with him before they rushed back out the door. She scurried into her bedroom to change, and when she finally finagled her way off of the phone, she called out to him in the living room, as she dug furiously through her drawers. "Give me five minutes and I'm good," she said, pulling out the black jeans she was looking for.
"Alright," he said simply.
She let her dress drop to the floor, stepping each foot into the pants, and walked back out to him, pulling them up as she went. "You ok?"
She noted that he still hadn't moved, and a small part of her was starting to worry at his lack of enthusiasm upon greeting her. Things had been good, no great, in the weeks since their one and only fight, but it lingered in her mind how close she had come to losing this.
He opened his eyes, running the back of his hand slowly over his brow. "Yeah, I'm good," he said, sleepily. "I think you jinxed me, though."
"What does that mean?" she asked, a slight smirk playing on her lips in amusement and relief at his playful tone.
"I haven't had so much as a cold in years, then you convince me to call out sick last month, and now I think I'm coming down with something."
Michonne gave him a sympathetic look, walking topless over to where he stood and brushing his hair with her fingers. "You want to skip tonight?" she asked, climbing onto his lap and searching his face for the severity of his complaint.
"No, I took a little rest while I was waiting on you. I can make it."
"Ok," she agreed, taking him at his word. She had never seen him complain about anything physical before, but if he said he was ok, she would believe him. She was dying to finally show him off to her co-workers at their customary Wednesday night Happy Hour, and she would never hear the end of it if they didn't show up to dinner with everyone afterward. She had been spending a lot of time at Rick's house lately, and they had missed more than a few of these get togethers
She kissed the top of his head and rushed back into her bedroom, slipping a thin, low cut, sweater off of a hanger and pulling it over her pinned up locs. Socks and knee-high boots, and she was done. This time when she returned, he was shrugging on his coat and grabbing hers from the back of the chair where she had tossed it, looking slightly more alive.
Rick followed her out to the parking lot of her building, squeezing into her little compact car that she swore was necessary for parallel parking on the crowded city streets, and resumed his previous slouched position, reclining the seat slightly so he could rest his head.
"Shoot," she exclaimed just as they were pulling onto the street. "I forgot to brush my teeth." She pouted, hesitating slightly and considering turning around if she didn't know they were already going to arrive behind everyone else.
Rick slipped his hand into his coat pocket, pulling out a roll of mints and handed her one with a grin. She took it, beaming back at him in thanks.
"So, you'll tell me which one is Olivia, right?"
"Rick…" she warned as she popped the mint in her mouth.
"I promise I won't say a thing," he offered with one hand over his chest in pledge. "I'm just curious." He gave her a wicked smile and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I'll introduce you to everybody. Just be good."
"I always am."
…
After parking in an admittedly tight spot, and walking a couple blocks over crooked, cobblestone sidewalks, they finally made it to the busy watering hole. Rick glanced at Michonne, clearly surprised to see the wall to wall crowd that had gathered on an evening, mid-week. There was just one bar in his hometown and they got drinks there from time to time, but even during prime time on a Saturday night, it wasn't this full. The truth was, she had kind of gotten used to the elbow room and found herself irritated at the difficulty she was having leading the way to her friends across the room.
They broke through the bar crowd just as Aaron was pulling out a couple of chairs at a high top table in a corner that had recently been vacated. "Michonne!" he greeted, enthusiastically. "Just in time, we finally got a place to sit." He gestured to the chair he was moving and wiped his hand on his jeans before offering it to Rick. "I'm Aaron."
"Rick," he said, shaking his hand and giving him a friendly nod. "Nice to meet you."
"Can't believe it's for the first time," Aaron responded, his voice raised over the music that was pumping through the space. He turned to give Michonne a hug as he spoke. "Michonne talks about you a lot."
The comment had Rick grinning like the Cheshire Cat, while Michonne narrowed her eyes at her friend's disclosure, trying to be annoyed. Pride outweighed any embarrassment she might have once felt though, since she was finally getting to make the long overdue introductions. "Aaron was traveling for awhile," she explained. "He's only been back a few weeks."
"Yeah, and this weekly get together is the only time I get to see Michonne anymore, outside of the office. I'm glad you could make it to one."
"Me too," Rick agreed, scanning the tables where her co-workers were sneaking glances at him.
Michonne grabbed his hand, leading him to the table where two women and a man, whom he quickly deduced was Aaron's boyfriend, all sat in wait. She went around the table making her introductions and trying not to beam as all of her colleagues, both female and male, openly appreciated Rick's lean frame that looked like it was carved out of the tight, white, henley shirt he wore. He had the sleeves pushed up past his elbows, his strong, tan forearms flexing as he offered a string of handshakes, and she realized she was doing her own gawking. If they only knew what was under that shirt, she thought.
Shaking her head to beckon her mind back from the gutter, she got around to Olivia, and Rick's charm meter instantly ticked up a couple notches. He greeted her with his thickest, most syrupy drawl, the one that he pulled out on special occasions, and Michonne had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as Olivia's cheeks burned red beneath the rims of her glasses.
"We've ordered some pitchers if you want a beer," Aaron said to the two of them.
"Lemme go to the bar and get you somethin'," Rick offered, knowing Michonne wasn't a big beer drinker. It was half an honest gesture and half a show of chivalry for Olivia's benefit, but she declined.
"No. Save me a seat. I'll go." She dropped his hand, and he gave her a mischievous smile as he took the stool next to Olivia.
After pushing through the crowd again and waiting far too long in line, she finally made it back with her cocktail, but Aaron appeared and caught her by the elbow before she could reach the table.
"So," her friend smiled, "he's quite charming."
"He is," she readily agreed, with a sip of her drink.
"You told him what Olivia said, didn't you?" Aaron matched her sip, smiling at her over his pint glass.
She didn't stop herself this time, letting her eyes travel all the way back into her head as she groaned. "What did he say?"
"Nothing, it's just he's laying it on thick with the 'yes ma'am's' and the country twang. She's eating it up, to be honest."
"Well, I did tell him," she admitted sheepishly. "It was sort of a thing."
"Oh, Michonne. Don't tell me you took all that blabbering to heart."
"Briefly," she promised. "Things are fine now."
"Good," he said, giving her a genuine nod of approval.
"I have to hit the ladies room," she said. "Keep an eye on Olivia for me." She winked at him and handed over her cocktail for him to hold, before heading off to the restrooms.
...
"So, Michonne told us you're a police officer. That's exciting," Olivia gushed. "You must have some really good stories?" She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and set her chin in her hands, hanging off of his every word.
Aaron rejoined the table, taking an open spot across from Rick, and shared a knowing grin with the others who were watching the conversation with amusement.
Rick was just about to answer with his best heroic tale, when a tall man appeared in his line of sight, stepping behind Aaron and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hi, Jay," Aaron smiled, turning to shake the man's hand.
"Hey, guys. How's it going? Thought I saw Michonne head this way."
Rick's ears perked up immediately, and he studied the strapping man with rich, dark skin and jet black stubble, who was looking around for his girlfriend.
"She ran to the bathroom," Aaron answered, tipping his head in that direction.
"Cool, cool. She left her sunglasses on the bar." Jay held the mirrored aviators up with a shrug.
"Thanks, man," Rick chimed in. "I can take 'em." He reached a hand across the table with a politely expectant smile.
Jay peered at Rick's open palm, one eye narrowed suspiciously in doubt, then placed his hands on his hips, looking back at the entrance to the restroom. "I'll wait."
Rick settled back into his stool with a crooked grin, amused by the posturing he was witnessing by this new arrival. He glanced in the same direction, watching for Michonne to appear from the dark corridor, while continuing to offer Olivia bits and pieces of attention.
Michonne did appear moments later, sauntering her way over to the table, and Rick stood, pulling out the chair he had been sitting in to offer it to her. She quickly took a detour however, as soon as she noticed her friend.
"Hey, what are you doing on this side of the bar?" she asked, tossing her locs behind her shoulder just adorably enough that Rick let out a little huff, before covering it with a sip of his beer.
Jay pulled the glasses out from behind his back, displaying them before her as if they were a dozen, long stemmed roses, and Rick couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the move. He had a well practiced habit of reading body language, and he wasn't at all enjoying the story this guy was telling.
"Thank you!" Michonne gushed, bringing a hand to her mouth in surprise. "I would have been heartbroken."
Aaron's head was bobbing back and forth between Jay's brilliant smile and Rick's emerging scowl, and he cleared his throat loudly, stealing Michonne's attention back.
She hooked her glasses onto the neckline of her top and took her drink back from Aaron, finally making her way to the seat Rick was still reserving. Suddenly remembering her manners, she offered up her introductions. "Jay, this is my boyfriend, Rick," she said, completely oblivious to the slight downturn in the corner of Jay's mouth as the title left her tongue. Rick didn't miss it though, and his lips curled in the opposite direction, as he reached across the table for the second time.
"Jay bartends here on Wednesday nights," she continued, while the two men exchanged a bruising handshake.
"Haven't seen you in here for a while, Michonne," Jay said, his gaze bouncing back to her the second his hand was released. "I was getting kinda used to seeing that pretty smile every week."
Rick shuffled his feet, attempting to stand up a little straighter. His body warring between the need to rest from whatever illness he was fighting at the moment, and the desire to do a little posturing himself. He was cursing himself for feeling like shit when there was a guy who looked like he should be on the cover of Men's Health magazine making heart eyes at his girlfriend.
Michonne chuckled nervously, Jay's intentions seemingly dawning on her in that moment, but Rick didn't give her a chance to retort, jumping at the chance to clear up the mystery of her recent whereabouts for Jay. "That would be my fault," he said, eyeing the man whom he had pinned as his opponent for the evening, and giving him a cocky grin. "I guess I've been kinda selfish with her time." He tilted his head to the side, and wrapped a tight arm around Michonne's shoulder. "Can you blame me?"
Michonne glanced up at Rick, her lips parted in an expression he couldn't quite read, and he decided not to push his luck any further, stifling the rest of his thoughts with another sip of beer.
"Well, I should get back to the bar," Jay said, seemingly sizing up how much of Rick's threatening stare was going to be a promise.
"Thank you for my sunglasses," she said, her tone more formal this time. "I appreciate it."
Rick watched Jay retreat, before settling back into his Prince Charming act for Olivia, though he didn't miss the promise of a follow up conversation in Michonne's eyes.
"Are you two joining us for dinner?" Olivia asked, interrupting their silent communication.
"We actually have another reservation we have to make," Michonne answered. "Sorry we could only stay for one round."
"Booo," Olivia called loudly, reminding the table she was well past round one, and Aaron chuckled at the outburst.
"We'll have to do this again, Rick," he said, offering his hand.
"Looking forward to it," he replied, as Michonne hugged her goodbyes.
...
"What was that about?" Michonne asked, when they had escaped the packed bar to the brisk air of the city street. She stepped to the side to allow some people to pass her, and he followed.
"What do you mean?"
"Your little standoff with Jay. Was that part of the game you were playing with Olivia, or was that for my benefit?" She crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to maintain a stern scowl against the smirk that she was fighting. As much as the little pissing contest had irritated her, she did find this competitive side of him to be a bit of a turn on.
"That depends," he said. "Was the hair flipping and giggling for my sake or his?"
Michonne's mouth dropped open and she was fully prepared to give him a piece of her mind, until she saw the playful grin he was wearing. She didn't know whether to laugh or hit him, but she decided against physical retaliation when she also noticed his posture was a bit slumped and he was favoring his right side, cradling it with his hand as he spoke.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think I pulled something at the gym this morning," he said, still holding his side. "It's been killing me all day." He began walking again, and she followed after him, watching him carefully.
"He's never flirted with like that before," she said, taking ahold of his arm. "I'm sorry that made you uncomfortable."
"Yeah, well I'm sure he has. You probably just didn't notice, cause he's not that good at it."
"Oh, really?" she laughed.
"Really. And he obviously wasn't deterred by my presence. He just needed a little reminder that you're already spoken for, to keep with him when I'm not there."
She shook her head at him, trying to maintain at least a little incredulity, but failing miserably.
"You sure you're up for dinner?" she said, trying not to pull him along, despite being in a rush.
"We don't need to cancel dinner because I pulled a muscle," he laughed and winced simultaneously. "I haven't seen you in days."
"You mean you haven't seen Daryl," she smirked.
"Oh, is he gonna be there?" he smiled back, innocently.
"Come on."
The restaurant where they were meeting was just a few blocks away and they arrived only a couple minutes late, despite Rick's inability to hustle.
Daryl was the first to spot them, completely ignoring Michonne to pull Rick in for a handshake turned man hug. "What's the matter with you?" he asked when Rick recoiled slightly from the aggressive show of affection.
"He pulled a muscle," Michonne answered, reaching up to steal her own hug. "Where is everyone?"
"They got a table in the back," he explained. "Figured it was better since Andrea's voice tends to carry."
…
"So, this was Jay from Bruno's right?" Daryl asked, laughing around a mouthful of cheeseburger.
"You know him," Rick asked, his grin growing at the coming vindication. He'd just finished retelling the story of their first stop for the evening to a captive audience.
"Yeah, he's the guy that's been drooling over Michonne for years now."
"What the hell, Daryl?" Michonne said, unimpressed.
"What? It some secret?"
"You really don't see this?" Rick asked, with a self satisfied chuckle.
"Michonne ain't never been good at reading signs right."
"If they're too forward, they're creeps. If they're too casual, she misses it altogether," Sasha explained.
"What'd you do right?" Andrea laughed, tapping Rick on the arm.
"Now this one on the other hand," Daryl said, pointing at Andrea, "she likes 'em extra creepy."
"Shut up, Dixon," Andrea sneered, tossing a napkin across the table at him.
Michonne settled back to watch the two spar, relieved the subject had turned away from her, and she noticed Rick pushing a mushroom around his plate with his fork, his food barely touched. "You don't like the pasta?" she asked, pointing to his dinner.
"It's good, I'm just not all that hungry."
"That's not like you," she teased, never knowing him to turn down a meal. She turned in her seat to take a look at him. "How are you feeling?"
"What's the matter?" Sasha asked, eavesdropping between bites of her fish tacos. She was staring at him now too, from across the table.
"I'm just coming down with somethin'"
"I thought you pulled a muscle?" Daryl said.
"I did," he said, squirming in his chair to try to get comfortable.
"Hmmm." Sasha put her food aside, looking him up and down with her eyes squinted.
"Don't try to diagnose him," Andrea said, pointing at Sasha with her fork. "It's like a party trick she pulls out whenever anyone so much as sneezes."
"I'm a nurse," Sasha replied, unfazed.
"Right now you're just at dinner."
"Well, I think you should get that checked out, Rick," Sasha said, ignoring Andrea. "Abdominal pain, loss of appetite...could be a lot of things."
"Nah, I just need an ice pack and a beer," he said.
Michonne looked back at him, taking in his pale skin and pained face, and she started to feel bad for dragging him around all evening, when he obviously wasn't up for it. "Let's finish up," she said, waving down the waitress. "I have both at my house."
...
"Did you have fun?" Rick asked, as he lay in the middle of Michonne's bed in his boxer shorts, watching her search for sleepwear. He looked relieved to finally be fully reclined again and she was relieved to finally get out of her jeans, after splurging on the cocktails.
"I did," she replied, settling on a t shirt and shorts and slipping them on. She took the spot beside him and grabbed a bottle of lotion from her night stand. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked, pumping some into her palm and smoothing it over her bare legs, while he watched.
"Come here and I'll show you."
"You're going to get me sick," she said, rubbing the rest of the lotion into her hands.
"I told you this is your fault, so you deserve it."
Michonne giggled, crawling over until she was on all fours above him, and he reached up to the back of her neck, pulling her head toward his for a slow kiss. "Maybe I can help," she whispered.
"I'm counting on it."
He let his heavy lids close as she worked her way from his mouth to his neck, taking full advantage of his immobility to explore her favorite spots. She brushed her lips over the skin beneath his ear, drawing a quiet moan from him as she continued her slow descent. Kissing along his broad chest, her fingers crawled along his side to find the waistband of his boxers, slipping in just enough to tease him.
"I think I know just the thing" she purred, dragging her tongue over the ripples of his ab muscles, and stopping to nibble and lick at the skin just below his belly button. When he offered no reaction, she picked her head up, her eyebrow quirked in curiosity, and found him fast asleep.
Chuckling at him under her breath, she moved to his side and reached down to pull the heavy, feather filled comforter up around him, before placing another soft kiss on his forehead. She realized his skin felt hot against her lips, and she frowned at his sleeping form.
"Rick," she said, laying a palm flat on his cheek. "I think you have a fever." She turned her hand over, pressing the back of her fingers to his forehead to confirm.
He mumbled out an incoherent answer, turning over to bury his head in the pillow.
"I'm going to get you some Tylenol," she said, jumping off the bed and padding into the bathroom.
…
Michonne was staring out of the large, picture window in her office, watching the gathering clouds, as the afternoon ticked slowly by. She was having a hard time focusing on work on this comfortably dreary day, that begged to be spent in bed. She'd woken up to a slightly refreshed Rick, and he'd convinced her to risk the further exposure to whatever bug he was fighting, to make up for the night before. She was playing the highlight reel over in her head, stroking her fingertips up and down her neck in remembrance, when she was startled by her phone buzzing across her desk. She reached for it, turning it over to reveal Rick's face plastered across the screen, his number blinking at the top.
"Hey you," Michonne answered in her sexiest purr. "I was just thinking about…"
"Woah, woah. As much as I'd love to hear the rest of that sentence, it's Shane."
"Shane? Why are you calling me on Rick's phone?" she demanded, biting her lip at the thought of what she had almost said to him.
"Listen, Rick's ok, but he's at the hospital. Just brought him in, they said it was a burst appendix."
"You're kidding me!" she practically shouted.
"Wish I was, he practically keeled over outside the shooting range today, thought he was gonna puke all over my car on the way here."
"He just left my house this morning!" she said, continuing her replay of the day's start, this time searching for a sign she had missed. "He said he was feeling better."
"He give you the same line about overdoing it at the gym?" Shane chuckled. "Just so you know, for future reference, that's not how his workouts go."
"Why are you laughing?" she asked, standing to gather her keys and sunglasses from her desk. "This is serious."
"He's fine. I just thought I should call you, let you know. But you don't need to worry."
"I'm coming," she said, ignoring his attempts at placating her. "What hospital are you at?"
"Only one in town, sweetheart," he responded. "I'll see you in a bit."
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P.S. I'm not very good at keeping these to one shots, so the next one will pick up here:)
